Display device

ABSTRACT

A display device includes a body, a support, and a first elastic unit. The support is rotatably disposed on a back side of the body and has a first slip stopper. The first elastic unit is pivotally connected to the body and the support. The display device is supported on the a working surface by a bottom of the body and the first slip stopper. The first elastic unit generates an elastic force to pull the support toward the body when the first slip stopper moves away from the working surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention provides a display device having an automatic foldablesupport, increasing the convenience of use.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Displays are widely used in modern life. In addition to being anecessary output equipment of a computer, the displays can be used forreceiving and displaying television programs, video games, andmultimedia information.

Human eyes are receivers of video images output by the display. In orderto have the greatest displaying effect and to avoid the discomfort andvision loss caused by users lifting up and down their heads for a longperiod of time, the height of the display is preferably adjustable.Moreover, the height of the display is preferably easily adjustablesince the user frequently changes the position and the elevation angleof his/her head.

At present, the conventional mechanism for adjusting the tilt angle ofthe display device includes two supports adjacent to each other andoperating in coordination with a pressing spring. After the displaydevice is adjusted, the above-mentioned mechanism uses the pressingspring to increase friction between the two coaxially rotatable supportsin order to maintain the adjusted tilt angle. However, the use ofpressing spring in the conventional technology increases the productioncost and the material cost. On the other hand, the pressing spring isalso subject to the risk of fracture if the heat treatment is improper.Therefore, there is still room for improvement in convenience andeconomy of the support used in displays.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a display devicewhich is easier and more convenient to use on a working surface.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a displaydevice to be used on a working surface and reduce the associatedproduction cost.

The display device of the present invention includes a body, a support,and a first elastic unit. The support is rotatably disposed on the backside of the body and has a first slip stopper. The first elastic unit ispivotally connected to the body and the support. The display device issupported on the working surface by the bottom of the body and the firstslip stopper. The first elastic unit generates an elastic force to pullthe support toward the body when the first slip stopper moves away fromthe working surface. The body further includes a second slip stopperdisposed on the bottom of the body.

The support further includes a first pivot and a first connector,wherein the first elastic unit is pivotally connected to the first pivotand the first connector. The first connector is fixed on the back sideof the body.

An end portion of the first connector is disposed corresponding to thefirst pivot and has a curved portion, wherein the first pivot has abump. The curved portion limits the displacement of the bump when thefirst pivot rotates.

An end portion of the first connector is disposed corresponding to thefirst pivot and has a bump. The first pivot has a curved portion. Thecurved portion limits the displacement of the bump when the first pivotrotates.

An end portion of the first connector is disposed corresponding to thefirst pivot and the first connector has a first positioning point. Thefirst pivot has a second positioning point, wherein the support and thebody are parallel with each other in a storage state when the firstpositioning point contacts the second positioning point.

The display device further includes a second elastic unit and thesupport further includes a second pivot and a second connector. Thesecond elastic unit is pivotally connected to the second pivot and thesecond connector. The second connector is fixed on the back side of thebody, wherein the first elastic unit and the second elastic unittogether generate an elastic force to pull the support toward the bodywhen the first slip stopper moves away from the working surface. Thesupport is a U-shaped support, wherein the first pivot and the firstconnector are disposed at one end of the U-shaped support while thesecond pivot and the second connector are disposed at the other end ofthe U-shaped support.

The display device further includes an extending support disposed on theback side of the body opposite to the support and inrotatable withrespect to the support, wherein an angle is included between theextending support and the support. A first angle is included between thebody and the support when the body and the support are supported on theworking surface. A second angle is included between the body and theextending support when the body and the extending support are supportedon the working surface. The second angle is greater than the firstangle.

The display device further includes an extending support and a thirdelastic unit. The extending support is rotatably disposed on the backside of the body and a third slip stopper is disposed at the bottom ofthe extending support. The third elastic unit is pivotally connected tothe body and the extending support, wherein the display device issupported on the working surface by the bottom of the body and the thirdslip stopper. The third elastic unit generates an elastic force to pullthe extending support toward the body when the third slip stopper movesaway from the working surface. An angle is included between the body andthe support when the display device is supported on the working surfaceby the bottom of the body and the first slip stopper, wherein the angleis between 60° and 130°.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the display device in one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 2A to 2E are schematic views showing different operation states ofthe display device of one preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are schematic views of the display device having acurved portion and a bump in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3C is a schematic view of the display device having a firstpositioning point and a second positioning point in one embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIGS. 4A to 5B are schematic views of the display device having anextending support in different embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a display device to be used on a workingsurface. The display device is preferably an electronic device having atouch screen such as a tablet computer or an electronic book. However,in different embodiments, the display device can also be otherelectronic devices with image-displaying function, such as personalcomputer monitors, plasma televisions, liquid crystal televisions, anddigital frames. The working surface refers to a surface on which thedisplay device can be placed and operated, such as a desktop or the topof a shelf.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the display device 900 of thepresent invention includes a body 100, a support 300, and a firstelastic unit 510. The support 300 is rotatably disposed on the back sideof the body 100 and has a first slip stopper 210. The first slip stopper210 is a high friction material such as glue strip and is preferablydisposed on one end of the support 300 near the bottom of the body 100.The first elastic device 510 is pivotally connected to the body 100 andthe support 300. The display device 900 is supported on the workingsurface 800 by the bottom of the body 100 and the first slip stopper 210(here please refer to FIG. 2B). The first elastic unit 510 generates anelastic restoring force to pull the support 300 toward the body 100 whenthe first slip stopper 210 moves away from the working surface 800.Specifically, two ends of the first elastic unit 510 are connected tothe body 100 and the support 300, respectively. Therefore, the firstelastic unit 510 deforms to generate a restoring force to pull thesupport 300 toward the body 100 when one end of the support 300 disposedwith the first slip stopper 210 moves away from the working surface 800.

As shown in the operation states of the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 2Ato 2C, one end of the support 300 disposed with the first slip stopper210 can rotatably move away from the back side of the body 100, so thatthe display device 900 can transform from the storage state (e.g. foldedstate) illustrated in FIG. 2A to the working state (e.g. expanded state)illustrated in FIG. 2B, wherein the angle between the body 100 and thesupport 300 is preferably between 60° and 130° in the working state. Bymeans of friction forces generated between the first slip stopper 210and the working surface 800 as well as between the bottom of the body100 and the working surface 800, the support 300 can support the body100 and maintain the display device 900 in a desired position on theworking surface 800. The body 100 can further include a second slipstopper 220 disposed on the bottom of the body 100 to increase thefriction generated between the bottom of the body 100 and the workingsurface 800. On the other hand, when the user is finished using thedisplay device 900 and wishes to put the display device 900 in storage,the user can move the first slip stopper 210 away from the workingsurface 800 by slightly lifting the body 100, as illustrated in FIG. 2C.At this moment, the first elastic unit 510 will generate an elasticforce to pull the support 300 toward the body 100, so that the displaydevice 900 returns back to the storage state as illustrated in FIG. 2A.

In other words, if the user wishes to adjust the angle between thedisplay device 900 and the working surface 800 as illustrated in FIG.2D, and if the user wishes to adjust the display device 900 from agreater viewing angle to a smaller viewing angle, he or she only needsto push the body 100 in a direction indicated by the arrow illustratedin FIG. 2D, i.e. push the upper portion of the body 100 from the backside. If the user wishes to adjust the viewing angle of the displaydevice 900 from a smaller viewing angle to a greater viewing angle, heor she only needs to push the body 100 in a direction indicated by thearrow illustrated in FIG. 2E, i.e. push the lower portion of the body100 from the back side. Compared with the conventional technology whichneeds to first lift up the display device 900, adjust the support 300 toa proper position, and then put the display device 900 back on theworking surface 800, the present invention is easier to use ormanipulate. At the same time, the structure of the present inventiondoes not need to install pressing springs at two supports adjacent toeach other and thus reduces the production cost. On the other hand, therestoring force generated by the first elastic device 510 increases asthe deformation of the first elastic device 510 increases. That is, therestoring force increases as the distance between the support 300 andthe back side of the body 100 increases, i.e. as the support 300 movesfurther away from the body 100. If the user wishes to position thedisplay device 900 at a greater viewing angle, i.e. when the support 300is very distant from the body 100, he or she only needs to slightly liftthe display device 900 and then the support 300 will automatically movetoward the body 100 due to the elastic force. At this moment, thefriction provided by the first slip stopper 210 that still contacts theworking surface 800 can buffer the elastic force of the first elasticunit 510. In this way, the support 300 will not abruptly move toward thebody 100 due to the elastic force of the first elastic unit 510 and thuswill not damage the body 100 or injure the user.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the support 300further includes a first pivot 311 and a first connector 313. The firstelastic unit 510 is pivotally connected to the first pivot 311 and thefirst connector 313 is fixed on the back side of the body 100. The firstpivot 311 passes through the first elastic unit 510 and two ends of thefirst elastic unit 510 are connected to the first pivot 311 and thefirst connector 313, respectively. The first connector 313 is preferablya plate. In other words, the support 300 can be disposed on the backside of the body 100 using the first connector 313. The support 300 canrotate with respect to the first connector 313, and therefore thesupport 300 can rotate with respect to the back side of the body 100after the first connector 313 is fixed on the back side of the body 100.In this way, during production processes, the support 300 can beproduced first and then disposed on different body 100. That is,different bodies 100 such as tablet computers, electronic books, orliquid crystal displays can use the same support 300 and thus theassociated production costs can be reduced.

As FIG. 3A shows, in a more preferred embodiment, a first end portion3131 of the first connector 313 has a curved portion 610 and the firstpivot 311 passes through the first end portion 3131 of the firstconnector 313, wherein the first pivot 311 has a bump 620 correspondingto the curved portion 610. Specifically, the curved portion 610 is acurved groove formed at the edge of the first end portion 3131 while thebump 620 extends into the curved groove. The curved portion 610 limitsthe displacement of the bump 620 when the first pivot 311 rotates. Thesupport 300 is linked to the first pivot 311 and this design limits therange of rotation of the support 300 relative to the first connector313, i.e. limits the angle of rotation of the support 300 relative tothe body 100 and prevents the occurrence of elastic fatigue in the firstelastic 510 caused by an excessive turning angle of the support 300.

In different embodiments, the disposing locations of the curved portion610 and the bump 620 can be adjusted based on design requirements. Forinstance, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3B, the curved portion610 is disposed on the first pivot 611 while the bump 620 is disposed onthe first end portion 3131 of the first connector 313. Specifically, thefirst end portion 3131 of the first connector 313 is disposed with thebump 620 extending into the curved portion 610, wherein the bump 620moves within the curved portion 610 as the support 300 rotates withrespect to the body 100. As such, the curved portion 610 can limit thedisplacement of the bump 620 when the first pivot 311 rotates, so thatthe rotation angle of the support 300 relative to the body 100 can belimited.

As FIG. 3A and FIG. 3C show, in a more preferred embodiment, a secondend portion 3132 of the first connector 313 has a first positioningpoint 641 and the first pivot 311 passes through the second end portion3132 of the first connector 313. The first pivot 611 has a secondpositioning point 642, wherein the support 300 and the body 100illustrated in FIG. 1 are substantially parallel with each other and ina storage state when the first positioning point 641 contacts the secondpositioning point 642. Furthermore, the first positioning point 641 andthe second positioning point 642 are preferably bulges protruding towardeach other respectively from a first curved plate 6410 and a secondcurved plate 6420. The first curved plate 6410 is fixed at the secondend portion 3132 and the second curved plate 6420 is coupled with anon-circular portion of the first pivot 311 by its non-circular centrethrough hole in order to link with the first pivot 311. When the firstpositioning point 641 and the second positioning point 642 directlycontact each other and together press the first curved plate 6410 andthe second curved plate 6420 into deformation, the support 300 and thebody 100 are substantially parallel with each other in the storage statesuch as illustrated in FIG. 2A. When one end of the support 300 ispulled away from the body 100 into the working state as illustrated inFIG. 2B, the first positioning point 641 and the second positioningpoint 642 are detached so that the first curved plate 6410 and thesecond curved plate 6420 are not subject to deformation. In a morepreferred embodiment, in order to make the support 300 and the body 100become parallel with each other for storage of the display device 900,the user must apply a force larger than the elastic force of the firstelastic unit 510 so that the first positioning point 641 and the secondpositioning point 642 can directly contact each other. This prevents thesupport 300 from unexpectedly leaving the working surface 800 to becomeparallel with the body 100 due to the elastic force of the first elasticunit 510 and thus prevents the display device 900 from falling downbecause of the lack of support.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the display device900 further includes a second elastic device 520 while the support 300further includes a second pivot 221 and a second connector 323. Thesecond elastic device 520 is connected to the second pivot 321 and thesecond connector 323, wherein the second connector 323 is fixed on theback side of the body 100. The second elastic unit 520 is connected tothe second pivot 321 and the second connector 323 in the same manner asthe first elastic unit 510 connected to the first pivot 311 and thefirst connector 313, and thus is not elaborated here. The first elasticunit 510 and the second elastic unit 520 together generate a restoringforce to pull the support 300 toward the body 100 (as shown in FIG. 2A)when the first slip stopper 210 moves away from the working surface 800(as shown in FIG. 2C). In this preferred embodiment, the support 300 isa U-shaped support 300, wherein the first pivot 311 and the firstconnector 313 are disposed at one end of the U-shaped support 300. Onthe other hand, the second pivot 321 and the second connector 323 aredisposed at the other end of the U-shaped support 300.

Furthermore, the present invention is achieved using two pivots (311,321), two connectors (313, 323), and two elastic unit (510, 520).However, it should be noted that the present invention can also beachieved by using one pivot, one connector, and one elastic unit.

As FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B show, in different embodiments, the displaydevice 900 further includes an extending support 380 disposed on theback side of the body 100 opposite to the support 300, wherein an angleθ is included between the extending support 380 and the support 300. Theextending support 380 cannot rotate with respect to the support 300,i.e. the angle θ between the support 300 and the extending support 380remains constant. A first angle α is included between the body 100 andthe support 300 when the body 100 and the support 300 are supported onthe working surface 800 as illustrated in FIG. 4A. A second angle β isincluded between the body 100 and the extending support 380 when thebody 100 and the extending support 380 are supported on the workingsurface 800, wherein the second angle β is greater than the first angleα. Specifically, the relative position of the support 300 and theextending support 380 is fixed by the angle θ. The extending support 380and the support 300 together can rotate with respect to the body 100.The support 300 and the extending support 380 together can be used tosupport the body 100 on the working surface 800 when the display device900 is tilted at a large angle as illustrated in FIG. 4B. That is, theextending support 380 is used when the display device 900 is tilted at alarge angle, but the tilt angle provided by the extending support 380cannot be adjusted. The support 300 is mainly used when the displaydevice 900 is tilted at a small angle. In this way, the first elasticunit 510 and the second elastic unit 520 does not need to have greatelasticity and this reduces the material costs of making the firstelastic unit 510 and the second elastic unit 520. Moreover, theextending support has a frame like structure, increasing the feasibilityof grapping the display device 900.

As FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B show, in different embodiments, the displaydevice 900 further includes an extending support 380 and a third elasticunit 530, wherein the third elastic unit 530 of the present embodimentcan also be referred to as an extending support elastic unit 530. Theextending support 380 can be rotatably disposed on the back side of thebody 100 and the bottom of the extending support 380 is disposed with athird slip stopper 230, wherein the third slip stopper 230 of thepresent embodiment can also be referred to as an extending support slipstopper 230. The third elastic unit 530 is pivotally connected to thebody 100 and the extending support 380, wherein the structure of thethird elastic unit 530 is similar to that of the first elastic unit 510and therefore is not elaborated here. The display device 900 issupported on the working surface 800 by the bottom of the body 100 andthe third slip stopper 230 (see FIG. 5B), wherein the third elastic unit530 can generate a restoring force to pull the extending support 380toward the body 100 when the third slip stopper 230 moves away from theworking surface 800. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the thirdelastic unit 530 of the extending support 380 has greater elasticity anduses tighter springs whereas the first elastic unit 510 and the secondelastic unit 520 of the support 300 have less elasticity and use loosersprings. When the display device 900 is tilted at a small angle asillustrated in FIG. 5A such that the angle between the body 100 and avirtual surface perpendicular to the working surface 800 isapproximately 10° to 50°, the support 300 can be used to support thebody 100 and achieve the function illustrated in FIGS. 2D and 2E. Whenthe display device 900 is tilted at a larger angle as illustrated inFIG. 5B such that the angle between the body 100 and a virtual surfaceperpendicular to the working surface 800 is approximately 70° to 80°,the support 300 can retreat to become substantially parallel with thebody 100 and the extending support 380 can be used to support the body100 and achieve the function as illustrated in FIGS. 2D and 2E. In otherwords, the support 300 is used when the display device 900 is tilted ata small angle and the extending support 380 is used when the displaydevice 900 is tilted at a large angle. This avoid the elastic fatigue inthe first elastic unit 510 and the second elastic unit 520 when thesupport 300 is used to support the display device 900 tilted at a largeangle for a long time.

The above is a detailed description of the particular embodiment of theinvention which is not intended to limit the invention to the embodimentdescribed. It is recognized that modifications within the scope of theinvention will occur to a person skilled in the art. Such modificationsand equivalents of the invention are intended for inclusion within thescope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, used on a working surface, comprising: a body; a support rotatably disposed on a back side of the body; a first elastic unit pivotally connected to the body and the support; an extending support rotatably disposed on the back side of the body, wherein the support and the extending support are coaxial; an extending support elastic unit pivotally connected to the body and the extending support; and an extending support slip stopper disposed at a bottom of the extending support; wherein a first angle is included between the body and the support when the body and the support are supported on the working surface, a second angle is included between the body and the extending support when the extending support and the body are supported on the working surface, the second angle is greater than the first angle; wherein the first angle is between 10° and 50° and the second angle is between 70° and 80°, the support comprises a first slip stopper, the display device is supported on the working surface by a bottom of the body and the first slip stopper, the first elastic unit generates an elastic force to pull the support toward the body when the first slip stopper moves away from the working surface, the display device is supported on the working surface by the bottom of the body and the extending support slip stopper, the extending support elastic unit generates an elastic force to pull the extending support toward the body when the extending support slip stopper moves away from the working surface.
 2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the body comprises a second slip stopper disposed at a bottom of the body.
 3. The display device of claim 1, wherein the support further comprises a first pivot and a first connector, the first elastic unit is pivotally connected to the first pivot and the first connector, the first connector is fixed on the back side of the body.
 4. The display device of claim 3, wherein an end portion of the first connector is disposed corresponding to the first pivot and comprises a curved portion, the first pivot comprises a bump, the curved portion limits a displacement of the bump when the first pivot rotates. 